While the new BA.275 subvariant of Omicron does not have an official name, Twitter has decided that it should be called Centaurus.
A Twitter user with the name Xabier Ostale posted a tweet on July 1 that called out the new name for the variant, saying he was naming it after a galaxy.
“I have just named BA.2.75 variant after a galaxy. Its new name is Centaurus strain. Get used to it,” Ostale wrote.
I have just named BA.2.75 variant after a galaxy.
Its new name is Centaurus strain.Get used to it. Today, I'm in command of anything pandemic. pic.twitter.com/JNkxlRI9Hv
— Xabier Ostale (@xabitron1) July 1, 2022
While it is unclear what the official name of the BA.2.75 will be, Twitter seems to have already decided that Centaurus is the new name of the variant as they accept Ostale’s announcement.
good name
— _ _ _ Heisse Duensch _ _ _ (@Heisse13) July 3, 2022
I like it _
— Ole Olsen PhD. (@oolsen50) July 2, 2022
Ostale, who said on his profile “Wear a proper mask & avoid crowds,” regularly posts information about the COVID pandemic.
According to the Washington Post, since the Centaurus name post began to circulate around social media, it has gained quite a bit of traction as Google searches for the term increased and it begins to dominate headlines about the variant.
Centaurus in general is a reference that is used to describe a faraway galaxy and also a name used in Greek mythology that refers to the father of centaurs, the Post said.
To date, the BA.2.75 has been detected in at least 10 countries, including the U.S., where at least three cases of the variant have been reported. The BA2.75 variant was first identified in India back in May.
The World Health Organization has yet to name the BA2.75 variant or recognize Centaurus as its name as the agency continues to track the strain of the virus.
New variants of COVID-19 have been traditionally named after letters of the Greek alphabet.